A chair with wheels for older people can meet a very simple need: reaching another room without switching to a different seat every time. The point is not just moving a piece of furniture. It is allowing the person to be where they want to be, with the supports suited to the activity they want to do.
Before choosing, picture a concrete destination: the table for a conversation, the living room when family members arrive, a quiet corner for reading. From there you can assess whether keeping the same seat is really useful and whether the route is compatible with using the wheeled base.
In brief
A chair with wheels is useful when moving indoors lets the person reach an activity they want without an additional change of seat. For Sollevita, the wheeled base is for accompanied moves, not independent driving. The route, the transport set-up, the presence of the person accompanying and stability on arrival must be checked according to the model’s instructions. Staying in the same chair does not mean remaining in the same position all day or giving up the other aids that are needed.
Wheels for moving the chair, or for moving it with someone in it?
The presence of wheels, on its own, does not make clear what a product is intended for. Before going ahead, ask explicitly whether the chair is designed to be moved only when empty or also with a person seated, and under what conditions. Do not interpret a photograph as an instruction.
In the Sollevita materials, the wheeled base is intended for assisted indoor moves with the person seated. [1] This is the point that matters if the aim is to change rooms while keeping the same seat. You will still need the instructions for the configuration actually delivered.
The move is accompanied by another person: the wheels do not turn Sollevita into a powered wheelchair and do not offer independent driving. The battery powers the chair’s adjustments; it does not drive the wheeled base. [1]
This distinction helps you make a precise request: “We need to accompany the person from the living room to the dining area.” That is different from “we need something they can use to move around the house on their own.”
The destination comes before the move
Ask the person what they would like to reach. Sometimes the priority is not another room but a different position in the same area: being close to the conversation, seeing more easily who comes in, or choosing a quieter corner.
For the table, the check does not end when the chair arrives in front of it. You need to understand whether the person can take part in the intended activity with the supports they need. Chatting, reading a newspaper and eating a meal do not necessarily require the same arrangement.
For time spent with others, ask whether the position lets the person see and hear the others without constant adjustments. For reading, consider light, a surface to rest things on and the ability to reach the remote control. These are questions about how the spot will be used, not a postural prescription.
Do not choose a destination only because it is the easiest for the person moving the chair. The journey makes sense when the arrival matches what the person prefers and not just an organisational need.
Three destinations and what to check at each
The table offers illustrative situations. It does not certify that they are suitable for every person or home: it is meant to replace the generic “we’ll move it wherever it’s needed” with a goal that can be checked.
| Destination | Desired activity | Check on arrival |
|---|---|---|
| Table area | Chatting or taking part in family life | Stable position, space for the seat and supports relevant to the activity |
| Living room | Welcoming a visitor or being with others | Placement chosen by the person, a useful view and unobstructed passageways |
| Quiet area | Reading or taking a break | Remote control within reach, light and space for the permitted adjustments |
Always plan the return journey as well as the destination. Will the person accompanying still be there? Will the room have the same layout after the meal? Will the person be able to ask to move before the time the family had in mind?
A solution works in everyday life when it also allows people to change their minds. The return should not depend on a piece of furniture that has to be taken apart or on someone nobody has told.
The person accompanying the move is part of the solution
An assisted move requires a person who knows the product and can manage the route under the intended conditions. Do not assume that anyone can push the chair just because it is on wheels.
On delivery, ask for an explanation of how to use the wheeled base, which points to use to guide the movement and what must not be used as a handhold. Do not improvise handholds on the armrests, backrest or other parts without the manufacturer’s instructions.
Also talk about communication during the move: the seated person must know where they are going and be able to signal discomfort or ask to stop. For someone who does not communicate verbally, this part should be agreed with those who know how they express themselves.
If the person who is meant to accompany the move cannot manage the route, stop the assessment there. The answer is not to use more force, pull the chair by any part that comes to hand or try a shortcut with the person seated.
Assess the whole route, not just the width of the door
Between two rooms there may be a turn, a threshold, a rug, a cable or a point where the space narrows. The destination also needs an area where the chair can arrive and be placed without blocking other passageways.
See the in-depth guide on measurements and space requirements to collect at home to prepare for the discussion with the technical contact. The dedicated guide avoids reducing the check to a single measurement. In this article, what matters most is knowing which real route will be used and for which activity.
Do not try out steps, ramps, slopes or thresholds with the person seated to see whether the wheels get over them. Ask first whether those conditions fall within the intended use. The route to a French window, for example, does not automatically mean you can continue onto a terrace.
Consider the home as it is normally used, not just as it looks in a tidy photograph. Chairs moved after lunch or a small table near the sofa can change the route. The check concerns what will realistically be available when the chair is being moved.
Moving the chair and using it in a stable position are two separate stages
Before the move, you need to know the set-up specified by the manufacturer, how to manage cables and the handset, and any parts that need to be prepared. Do not assume that every recline position is also a transport position.
On arrival, Sollevita must be returned to the intended stable condition, resting on its feet, before the person stands up or makes a transfer. The approved materials distinguish moving on the wheeled base from getting into and out of the chair. [1] The actual procedure should be learned on the model delivered.
Nor do the wheels mean the chair can be repositioned continually while the person is trying to sit down or stand up. The movement of the wheeled base and the movement of the body must not be improvised together.
Ask for a separate demonstration of the two stages: how the move is prepared and accompanied, and how to recognise when the chair is in its stable condition for use. An understandable explanation is more useful than a sequence of commands learned by heart without knowing what each one does.
The battery powers the adjustments, not the wheels
When the chair is used in several parts of the home, power becomes a practical question. The battery can make the adjustments available without being permanently plugged into a socket, according to the model’s instructions and charge. It should not be interpreted as unlimited running time. [1]
For charging and the points to clarify, see the guide to the chair’s battery. Here it is enough to keep the two systems separate: one powers the motorised movements of the seat, the other allows the chair to be moved with someone accompanying it.
Do not plan the route by trailing a power cable or relying on an extension lead left between rooms. How the connections are managed must be defined with the technical contact before the wheeled base is used.
It is also useful to know where the chair will be placed when it needs the battery management specified for it, without guessing at a number of hours or movements available.
The same seat does not mean the same position all day
Changing surroundings can be a way to take part in an activity without adding a change of seat. It is not a reason to automatically extend time in the chair or to cancel a rest period in bed that has already been planned.
Preventing pressure ulcers may require changes of position and specific support surfaces, defined according to the person’s needs. The mere presence of wheels does not meet these needs. [2] The guidance you have received remains valid even when the journey becomes more practical.
So do not confuse “no transfer is needed for this destination” with “transfers are no longer needed”. The wheelchair may still be needed for other moves or for independence; the bed for the planned rest and care.
The criterion for choosing is a positive one: keep what already works and add a useful option. A chair that reaches the right room but leaves the person in a position unsuited to the activity has not yet solved the problem.
How to tell whether the wheeled base meets the real need
Before the technical discussion, complete this sentence: “We would like to reach this activity, in this part of the home, with this person available to accompany the move.” It is a simple description that brings together purpose, destination and help.
Compare it with the features of the Sollevita care riser recliner, taking along the route details and any guidance you have on supports. [1] There is no need to buy on the basis of the abstract idea of “greater mobility”: you need to check the move that really matters.
The outcome of the assessment may be favourable for one route and not for another. That is useful too: it avoids crediting the wheeled base with capabilities that have not been checked.
When route, arrival and accompaniment are consistent, the function can add a choice to the day: not just staying where the chair was placed, but reaching a moment the person wants to share.
Reference sources
[1] Sollevita / La Castellana — Product documentation
Features taken from the documentation provided to the editorial team; the link leads to the product page, not to a clinical verification.
[2] Geneva University Hospitals (HUG) — Preventing pressure ulcers in hospital (in French)
The health sources support the principles referred to; they do not recommend or certify Sollevita. Tables and examples are prepared by the editorial team; they are not clinical tests or documented cases.
Describe the destination you would like to reach
Tell the Sollevita Team where you would like to use the chair, which activity you want to make possible and who will be able to accompany the move. With information about the route and the person’s needs, the discussion about the wheeled base becomes concrete: a function to assess in the real home, not just to look at in a catalogue.
